Climate Change and Natural Resources Conflicts in Africa

Download – Climate Change and Natural Resources Conflicts in Africa

Title: Climate Change and Natural Resources Conflicts in Africa

This monograph contains papers that were presented at the International Conference on Climate Change and Natural Resources Conflicts in Africa, 14–15 May 2009, Entebbe, Uganda, organised by the Environment Security Programme (ESP) of the Institute for Security Studies (ISS), Nairobi Office. The climate change phenomenon is a global concern, which typically threat[1]ens the sustainability of the livelihoods of the majority of the population living in the developing countries. Africa, particularly the sub-Saharan region, is likely to be negatively impacted by climate variability and change. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Africa’s vulnerability arises from a combination of many factors, including extreme poverty, a high rate of population increase, frequent natural disasters such as droughts and floods, and agricultural systems (both crop and livestock production) that depend heavily on rainfall. Extreme natural occurrences such as floods and droughts are becoming increasingly frequent and severe. Africa’s high vulnerability to the negative impacts of climate variability and change is also attributed to its low adaptive capacity.

The monograph is divided into five sections that correspond to the main themes of the conference. The first part contains a chapter that discusses the link between climate change and human security in Africa by focusing on the role of the African Union in addressing the impact of climate change in general. Other chapters in this section address the effects of climate change on the human population in Africa, more specifically around Lake Chad and in Lesotho.

Category: Water and Climate change